Go IOH Sharks!

I'm so proud I could burst!!!
Cade is swimming for our neighborhood swim team this year, the Isle Of Hope Sharks!
It's very fun and he's loving it! It's his first time on swim team. He had his first meet today and he did AWESOME! I've never seen him so nervous. He kept saying, "i'm not that good, I'm gonna lose!" It was a big meet at the Aquatic Center and it was really overwhelming. I sorta felt like I was gonna throw up for him. But daddy gave him one of his "coach" pep talks and made sure he got to the right lane at the right time and stood behind cheering him on! He swam the 25 meter freestyle and the 25 meter backstroke and took FIRST PLACE IN BOTH EVENTS!!! Yay, Cade! It was just the boost of confidence that he needed to get him really excited about his upcoming meets! Stay tuned for swim team pics and videos! Who knew we had a swimmer?

cade steals the camera

i downloaded new pictures yesterday and found this.... I guess Cade got the camera. Please don't call dfacs on me. I promise I was in the general vacinity, you can even hear me in the background with Cora if you listen closely. (stop the music and turn up the volume for this one!)

What a difference a year can make!

Cora May 2008

Cora May 2009

Cora May 2010
Oh what a better place we're in! Thank you, Lord! And the best surprise of them all----CURLS!!!

pictures!

what's cuddlier and yummier smelling than 3 cuties fresh out of the bathtub? nothing!

Cora's just recently turned into an artist. We're trying to keep it on paper, but here's her most recent piece!

Cade and his favorite book in costume for Book Character day at SCPS.

Clare Bear sporting one of Cora's old summer outfits. Before I put it on I thought, "I bet she'll remind me so much of Cora in this." But nope, Cade in a dress!

Runway To Recovery Fashion Show | WSAV

Runway To Recovery Fashion Show WSAV
Read about this fund raising event that Cora will MODEL in this year! This is the article advertising last year's event, but I couldn't find one advertisting it yet this year. If you're in Savannah, mark your calendars for Sunday June 6th at 2 pm. The fashion show will be at the Armstrong Center. I think the cost is the same. It's a great event for a great cause! Come see Cora work the runway (or be shy and hide behind me as I try to coax her down it)!

High, Higher, and Highest Maintenance

That is our three kids. They rotate as to who is high maintenance, higher maintenance, and highest maintenance. Usually it follows their ages from oldest to youngest making Clara the highest maintenance because of her age and amount of attention she requires. Well...no more. We've been absent from blog world for the last couple of weeks because my children have reversed the order of maintenance they require. Yep, baby love is doing great, sleeping well, rolling with the punches, and smiling like crazy. On the other hand, I'm not sure if it's an extreme case of spring fever, exhaustion, his busy schedule, or a phase, but my usually compliant eldest child has decided that it'd be a good idea to question every direction I give him, beg without ceasing when I say "no" 100+ times, and keep a schedule that would wear out the Energizer bunny. We've been so crazy busy with field trips, end of the year programs, special events, recital practices, swim team practices, and the massive amount of laundry that goes with all of it. In a recent end of year chapel program I'm not sure if Cade thought he'd take the role of class clown or if he thought 6.5 is suddenly too cool for singing, but here's how weird he acted in his program.

(i mean really, what was that?) I wasn't sure if I should laugh and say what the heck was that, or spank him afterward. How weird! Either way, he's obviously ready for summer!

This past week Cora had clinic (she did great again!) and a lumbar puncture followed by 5 days of steroids. For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to take a weekend trip to Atlanta to see Rob's parents. After about the first hour of our 4 hour car trip a steroid loaded Cora moved up to the "highest maintenance" position as she begged for food like every 10 seconds (that seriously drives me crazy! She can eat a whale and still be hungry!) and of the whole weekend only enjoyed the half hour that she and Cade spent jumping on rob's parents bed. Besides that she was a lot of complaining, grumbling, crying, and whining. And our little baby princess, rolled with the punches, kept up with our busy fun filled weekend schedule and slept better in a pack and play at the hotel than she does in her crib!

In a nutshell, that should catch you up to date. This week holds more of the same hectic schedule as Cora's last day of school is Tuesday and this is Cade's last full week. Wonder who will rank as highest maintenance this week??

Clara's 3 Month Update

I can't believe I am a quarter of a year old today. Mommy says she no longer has a tiny newborn. I have progressed a lot this month and I'm starting to get the hang of things. I weigh about 11 pounds 8 ounces. I was sick again this month with a virus. The whole family had it so it was inevitable that I would catch it. I'm beginning to wonder what kind of sickly family I was born into! Someone's been sick since I was born. Hopefully, we're on the road to wellness for a while as the weather changes.
Well, in a nutshell mama describes me as a baby who drinks Mt. Dew from her bottles instead of milk. I don't of course, but I am constantly wiggling, kicking, punching, lifting my head, and figeting. The only time I'm still is when I am sleeping, which isn't much during the day. I like to catnap during the day and save my long sleep stretches for night. Mom isn't complaining abut that! I can reach for things and every once in a while I get something and that really excites me! So much that I start to kick and punch and drop it! I can't roll from tummy to back yet, but I'm getting close. I HATE being on my tummy! I love baths! I also love being talked to. When someone is just looking straight at me talking I am the happiest! I just smile and smile! I try really hard to talk back and make all sorts of cooing sounds. I like Cade and Cora a lot. Cade makes me smile every time he talks to me and Cora makes me smile too when she's not squeezing me. Cora inherited this baby squeezing gene from mama. Mama used to do it to aunt lauren when she was a baby and now Cora does it to me. She squeezes my hands, my legs, my feet, and once even my head. Mom has to watch her closely. Cora loves me, but tells mama, "she's just so cute I have to squeeze her!" I can't wait to be big enough to fuss back! I don't like to be lying down when I'm awake. I squirm the whole time and try to lift my head. I'd much rather be propped up or in a bouncy seat or swing. I like to see that action! I'm getting better at taking a bottle and seem to be having fewer tummy issues than last month. Mama's still pumping those bottles, but doing an experiment for a few days to see if I sleep better and chill out a little on just formula. Stay tuned for the results! That's about it for this month! Am I cute or what?

xoxo, Clara

clara's feelings on tummy time...

today I'm thankful for washable paint!